The Ancient City of Taizhou, Zhejiang province

The Ancient City of Taizhou, Zhejiang province
(台州府城文化旅游区tāi zhōu fǔ chéng wén huà lǚ yóu qū)

Address: Jiangbin Middle Road, Linhai city, Taizhou city, Zhejiang province
Scenic Spot Level: AAAAA
Opening Hours: 7 am - 5:30 pm
Ticket Price: free

The Ancient City of Taizhou is located in Linhai of Taizhou, Zhejiang province. It is a scenic area covering 3.12 square kilometers. Its attractions include the Taizhou City Wall, Ziyang Ancient Street, East Lake and Jinshan Mountain. It is known as a land of culture and etiquette. Taizhou was established in 621, and Linhai has always been its administrative region.

The Taizhou City Wall, also known as the Great Wall of the lower reach of the Yangtze River, was initiated in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420) and completed during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). It was renovated in the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911) to fulfill both military and flood control functions. The city wall, 4,730 meters in existence, is rare in China for its unique structure, standard shape and well-preserved condition. In 2001, it was listed as a national foremost protected cultural heritage site. Luo Zhewen, a famed expert on traditional Chinese architecture, praised it as the "prototype" of the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty.

Running through the ancient city, Ziyang Street was named after Zhang Boduan (987-1082), the founder of the southern sect of Taoism. It boasts a total length of 1,080 meters and is the most prosperous commercial block in the history of this ancient city. In 2012, it was listed as a Chinese historical and cultural block by the Ministry of Culture and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.

Located on the east side of the ancient city, East Lake covers an area of about 18.7 hectares. The lake was dug in the Northern Song Dynasty and expanded into a garden under the command of local governor Qian Xuan (1018-85). Yu Yue (1821-1907), an acclaimed literatus of the Qing Dynasty, described it a small West Lake in tribute to its picturesque scenery.

Jinshan Mountain, literally Kerchief Mountain in Chinese, is a well-known landmark of Linhai.  Folk legend says that an immortal dropped his kerchief here which changed into the mountain.  It is embraced by the city and has two peaks. Besides four ancient pagodas, there are a number of historical sites on the mountain where many celebrities of past dynasties left inscriptions. Jinshan Mountain is also noted as the terminus of the Tang Poetry Road in eastern Zhejiang.